arXiv subjects

Massimo Blasone

Publications and source records attributed to Massimo Blasone.

At least 37 records · Page 2Linked to original sources

arXiv2023

Weak equivalence principle violation for mixed scalar particles

We investigate the non-relativistic limit of the Klein--Gordon equation for mixed scalar particles and show that, in this regime, one unavoidably arrives at redefining the particle's inertial mass. This happens because, in contrast to the case when mixing is absent, the antiparticle sector contribution cannot be neglected for particles with definite flavor. To clearly demonstrate this feature, we adopt the Feshbach--Villars formalism for Klein--Gordon particles. Furthermore, within the same framework, we also demonstrate that, in the presence of a weak gravitational field, the mass parameter that couples to gravity (gravitational mass) does not match the effective inertial mass. This, in turn, implies a violation of the weak equivalence principle. Finally, we prove that the Bargmann's superselection rule, which prohibits oscillating particles on the basis of the Galilean transformation, is incompatible with the non-relativistic limit of the Lorentz transformation and hence does not collide with the results obtained.

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arXiv2023

No-signaling-in-time as a condition for macrorealism: the case of neutrino oscillations

We consider two necessary and sufficient conditions for macrorealism recently appeared in the literature, known as no-signaling-in-time and arrow-of-time conditions, respectively, and study them in the context of neutrino flavor transitions, within both the plane wave description and the wave packet approach. We then compare the outcome of the above investigation with the implication of various formulations of Leggett--Garg inequalities. In particular, we show that the fulfillment of the addressed conditions for macrorealism in neutrino oscillations implies the fulfillment of Leggett--Garg inequalities, whereas the converse is not true. Finally, in the framework of wave packet approach, we also prove that, for distances longer than the coherence length, the no-signaling-in-time condition is always violated whilst Leggett--Garg inequalities are not.

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arXiv2022

Nonlocality and entropic uncertainty relations in neutrino oscillations

Using the wave-packet approach to neutrino oscillations, we analyze Quantum-Memory-Assisted Entropic Uncertainty Relations and show that uncertainty and the Non-local Advantage of Quantum Coherence are anti-correlated. Furthermore, we explore the hierarchy among three different definitions of NAQC, those based on the l1-norm, relative entropy and skew information coherence measures, and we find that the coherence content detected by the l1-norm based NAQC overcomes the other two. The connection between QMA-EUR and NAQC could provide a better understanding of the physical meaning of the results so far obtained, and suggest a their extension to quantum field theory.

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arXiv2021

Violation of the equivalence principle in curvature based extended gravity at finite temperature

We review the possible violation of the Equivalence Principle at finite temperature T in the framework of curvature based Extended Theories of Gravity. Specifically, we first show how it is possible to derive Equivalence Principle violation from Quantum Field Theory at non-vanishing T. Subsequently, we exhibit how this result can be precisely recovered by following an alternative path that envisages the employment of generalized Einstein equations with a temperature-dependent energy-momentum tensor. Finally, we adopt the latter formalism in the context of some Extended Gravity models to quantify the amount of Equivalence Principle violation. Specifically, Brans-Dicke Theory, Standard Model Extension and Conformal Gravity are considered in details.

gr-qc↗

arXiv2021

Leggett-Garg inequalities in the quantum field theory of neutrino oscillations

We investigate Leggett-Garg temporal inequalities in flavor-mixing processes. We derive an exact flavor-mass uncertainty product and we establish that it is an upper bound to the violation of the inequalities. This finding relates temporal nonclassicality to quantum uncertainty and provides a time analog of the Tsirelson upper bound to the violation of the spatial Bell inequalities. By studying the problem both in the exact field-theoretical setting and in the limiting quantum mechanical approximation, we show that Leggett-Garg inequalities are violated more strongly in quantum field theory than in quantum mechanics.

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arXiv2021

Gravitational effects on neutrino decoherence in Lense-Thirring metric

We analyze gravity effects on neutrino wave packet decoherence. As a specific example, we consider the gravitational field of a spinning spherical body described by the Lense-Thirring metric. By working in the weak-field limit and employing Gaussian wave packets, we show that the characteristic coherence length of neutrino oscillation processes is nontrivially affected, the corrections being dependent on the mass and angular velocity of the gravity source. Possible experimental implications are finally discussed.

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arXiv2021

Nonextensive Tsallis statistics in Unruh effect for Dirac neutrinos

Flavor mixing of quantum fields was found to be responsible for the breakdown of the thermal Unruh effect. Recently, this result was revisited in the context of nonextensive Tsallis thermostatistics, showing that the emergent vacuum condensate can still be featured as a thermal-like bath, provided that the underlying statistics is assumed to obey Tsallis prescription. This was analyzed explicitly for bosons. Here we extend this study to Dirac fermions and in particular to neutrinos. Working in the relativistic approximation, we provide an effective description of the modified Unruh spectrum in terms of the q-generalized Tsallis statistics, the q-entropic index being dependent on the mixing parameters sin θ and Δm. As opposed to bosons, we find q > 1, which is indicative of the subadditivity regime of Tsallis entropy. An intuitive understanding of this result is discussed in relation to the nontrivial entangled structure exhibited by the quantum vacuum for mixed fields, combined with the Pauli exclusion principle.

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arXiv2021

Wave packet approach to quantum correlations in neutrino oscillations

Quantum correlations provide a fertile testing ground for investigating fundamental aspects of quantum physics in various systems, especially in the case of relativistic (elementary) particle systems as neutrinos. In a recent paper, Ming et al. (Ming et al. Eur.Phys.J.C 80 (2020) 275), in connection with results of Daya-Bay and MINOS experiments, have studied the quantumness in neutrino oscillations in the framework of plane-wave approximation. We extend their treatment by adopting the wave packet approach that accounts for effects due to localization and decoherence. This leads to a better agreement with experimental results, in particular for the case of MINOS experiment.

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arXiv2021

q-generalized Tsallis thermostatistics in Unruh effect for mixed fields

It was shown that the particle distribution detected by a uniformly accelerated observer in the inertial vacuum (Unruh effect) deviates from the pure Planckian spectrum when considering the superposition of fields with different masses. Here we elaborate on the statistical origin of this phenomenon. In a suitable regime, we provide an effective description of the emergent distribution in terms of the nonextensive q-generalized statistics based on Tsallis entropy. This picture allows us to establish a nontrivial relation between the q-entropic index and the characteristic mixing parameters sinθ and Δm. In particular, we infer that q < 1, indicating the superadditive feature of Tsallis entropy in this framework. We discuss our result in connection with the entangled condensate structure acquired by the quantum vacuum for mixed fields.

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arXiv2021

Chiral oscillations in the non-relativistic regime

Massive Dirac particles are a superposition of left and right chiral components. Since chirality is not a conserved quantity, the free Dirac Hamiltonian evolution induces chiral quantum oscillations, a phenomenon related to the \textit{Zitterbewegung}, the trembling motion of free propagating particles. While not observable for particles in relativistic dynamical regimes, chiral oscillations become relevant when the particle's rest energy is comparable to its momentum. In this paper, we quantify the effect of chiral oscillations on the non-relativistic evolution of a particle state described as a Dirac bispinor and specialize our results to describe the interplay between chiral and flavor oscillations of non-relativistic neutrinos: we compute the time-averaged survival probability and observe an energy-dependent depletion of the quantity when compared to the standard oscillation formula. In the non-relativistic regime, this depletion due to chiral oscillations can be as large as 40$\%$. Finally, we discuss the relevance of chiral oscillations in upcoming experiments which will probe the cosmic neutrino background.

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arXiv2021

Flavor vacuum entanglement in boson mixing

Mixing transformations in quantum field theory are non-trivial, since they are intimately related to the unitary inequivalence between Fock spaces for fields with definite mass and fields with definite flavor. Considering the superposition of two neutral scalar (spin-0) bosonic fields, we investigate some features of the emerging condensate structure of the flavor vacuum. In particular, we quantify the flavor vacuum entanglement in terms of the von Neumann entanglement entropy of the reduced state. Furthermore, in a suitable limit, we show that the flavor vacuum has a structure akin to the thermal vacuum of Thermo Field Dynamics, with a temperature dependent on both the mixing angle and the particle mass difference.

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arXiv2020

Quantum nonlocality in extended theories of gravity

We investigate how pure-state Einstein-Podolsky-Rosen correlations in the internal degrees of freedom of massive particles are affected by a curved spacetime background described by extended theories of gravity. We consider models for which the corrections to the Einstein-Hilbert action are quadratic in the curvature invariants and we focus on the weak-field limit. We quantify nonlocal quantum correlations by means of the violation of the Clauser-Horne-Shimony-Holt inequality, and show how a curved background suppresses the violation by a leading term due to general relativity and a further contribution due to the corrections to Einstein gravity. Our results can be generalized to massless particles such as photon pairs and can thus be suitably exploited to devise precise experimental tests of extended models of gravity.

gr-qc↗

arXiv2020

A note on oscillating neutrino states in quantum field theory

In a recent paper (Eur. Phys. J. C 80: 68 (2020).), a definition of oscillating neutrino states in quantum field theory was proposed. We show that such definition can be derived in a particular case of the Blasone-Vitiello approach, when mass vacuum is chosen as the physical vacuum. We discuss some problems of such an approach, which appears to be mathematically inconsistent and physically not acceptable.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2020

Non-relativistic neutrinos and the weak equivalence principle apparent violation

We study the non-relativistic limit of Dirac equation for mixed neutrinos. We demonstrate that such a procedure inevitably leads to a redefinition of the inertial mass. This happens because, in contrast to the case when mixing is absent, the antiparticle sector contribution cannot be neglected for neutrinos with definite flavor. We then show that, when a gravitational interaction is switched on, in the weak-field approximation the mass parameter which couples to gravity (gravitational mass) does not undergo the same reformulation as the inertial mass, thus leading to an apparent breakdown of the weak equivalence principle.

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arXiv2020

Lorentz Invariant Quantum Concurrence for SU(2) x SU(2) spin-parity states

The quantum concurrence of $SU(2) \otimes SU(2)$ spin-parity states is shown to be invariant under $SO(1,3)$ Lorentz boosts and $O(3)$ rotations when the density matrices are constructed in consonance with the covariant probabilistic distribution of Dirac massive particles. Similar invariance properties are obtained for the quantum purity and for the trace of unipotent density matrix operators. The reported invariance features -- obtained in the scope of the $SU(2) \otimes SU(2)$ corresponding to just one of the inequivalent representations enclosed by the $SL(2,\mathbb{C})\otimes SL(2,\mathbb{C})$ symmetry -- set a more universal and kinematical-independent meaning for the quantum entanglement encoded in systems containing not only information about spin polarization but also the correlated information about intrinsic parity. Such a covariant framework is used for computing the Lorentz invariant spin-parity entanglement of spinorial particles coupled to a magnetic field, through which the extensions to more general Poincaré classes of spinor interactions are straightforwardly depicted.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2020

Some non-trivial aspects of Poincaré and CPT invariance of flavor vacuum

We study the explicit form of Poincaré and discrete transformations of flavor states in a two-flavor scalar model, which represents the simplest example of the field mixing. Because of the particular form of the flavor vacuum condensate, we find that the aforementioned symmetries are spontaneously broken. The ensuing vacuum stability group is identified with the Euclidean group E(3). With the help of Fabri-Picasso theorem, we show that flavor vacua with different time labels and in different Lorentz frames are unitarily inequivalent to each other and they constitute a manifold of zero-flavor-charge states. Despite the spontaneous breakdown of Poincaré and CPT symmetries that characterises such vacua, we provide arguments on the absence of Goldstone Bosons. We also prove that the phenomenologically relevant oscillation formula is invariant under these transformations.

hep-th↗

arXiv2020

On the beta-decay of the accelerated proton and neutrino oscillations: a three-flavor description with CP violation

The (inverse) beta-decay of uniformly accelerated protons (p -> n + e+ + ne) has been recently analyzed in the context of two-flavor neutrino mixing and oscillations. It has been shown that the decay rates as measured by an inertial and comoving observer are in agreement, provided that: i) the thermal nature of the accelerated vacuum (Unruh effect) is taken into account; ii) the asymptotic behavior of neutrinos is described through flavor (rather than mass) eigenstates; iii) the Unruh radiation is made up of oscillating neutrinos. Here we extend the above considerations to a more realistic scenario including three generations of Dirac neutrinos. By following the outlined recipe, we find that the equality between the two rates still holds true, confirming that mixing is perfectly consistent with the General Covariance of Quantum Field Theory. Notably, we prove that the analysis of CP violation in neutrino oscillations provides a further solid argument for flavor states as fundamental representation of asymptotic neutrino states. Our approach is finally discussed in comparison with the other treatments appeared in literature.

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arXiv2019

Heuristic derivation of Casimir effect in minimal length theories

We propose a heuristic derivation of Casimir effect in the context of minimal length theories based on a Generalized Uncertainty Principle (GUP). By considering a GUP with only a quadratic term in the momentum, we compute corrections to the standard formula of Casimir energy for the parallel-plate geometry, the sphere and the cylindrical shell. For the first configuration, we show that our result is consistent with the one obtained via more rigorous calculations in Quantum Field Theory. Experimental developments are finally discussed.

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